A Man Was Sentenced To 125 Years In Prison For Stealing A Gun Used In A Murder

A man convicted of stealing a gun used in a murder was given 125
years in prison — about a century longer than the actual killers
received after taking plea deals.

Christopher G. Nichols, 27, was sentenced Tuesday for gun theft,
trafficking in stolen property, being a felon in possession of
firearms and other crimes, The Spokesman-Review reported.

Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen said sentences for the gun crimes must
be served one after another, as a result of Washington’s 1995 law
known as Hard Time for Armed Crime.

Nichols and his lawyer took the case to trial after turning down
a plea deal that could have reduced his sentence by about 100
years.

Nichols, who had no role in the 2011 killing of Colville resident
Gordon Feist, wept as the sentence was read, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen defended the sentence, saying the burglary was “the
root of this violent and senseless killing of Mr. Feist, who was
acting as a good Samaritan when he was killed.

“This law has been upheld many times in appellate court,”
Rasmussen said. “It represents a decision by the Legislature to
strike at the root of violent crime.”

The crime that netted Nichols what amounts to a life sentence
began on June 28, 2011, when he and Eric L. Booth, 26, broke into
a home in Stevens County and stole a safe containing several
firearms.

Booth then planned a ruse with 27-year-old Jesse J.
Fellman-Shimmin and 25-year-old Collette M. Pierce to burglarize
the home of Feist, 63, who served three tours in Vietnam as a
Navy SEAL.

They pretended they had run out of gas, and Feist agreed to help.
Feist was driving the suspects back to their car with gas when
Booth shot him in the head using one of the stolen guns.

All three later reached plea agreements for their roles in the
killing and testified against Nichols.

Stevens County Superior Court Judge Pat Monasmith previously
sentenced Fellman-Shimmin to 25 years in prison for second-degree
murder; Booth was given 26 1/2 years for first-degree murder; and
the judge gave Pierce 15 years for second-degree murder.

Rasmussen said Monasmith discussed some reservations about the
length of Nichols’ sentence compared to those actually convicted
of murder, but eventually the judge ruled that Nichols was aware
of the seriousness of a felon stealing and possessing guns. He
also mentioned that Nichols committed the gun theft less than two
years after getting out of prison where he served a seven-year
sentence for similar crimes.

Rasmussen said he believed Nichols’ sentence of 125 years was one
of the longest sentences ever handed down for a non-murder
conviction.

“Without the burglary of these firearms, this killing would not
have occurred,” he said.